Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will thisweek vote on the controversial revised U.S./UK ExtraditionTreaty.

The committee will meet Thursday and just a simple majoritywill be required to send the bill to the full U.S. Senatefor a final vote.

The revised treaty has been opposed since its birth in 2003by a number of Irish American organizations and activists.Opponents are expected to attend Thursday's committeehearing.

However, discussion at the hearing is likely to be limitedwith the emphasis instead on the member vote.

That said, a spokesman for committee chairman, SenatorRichard Lugar, indicated that some steps have been takenbehind the scenes that could assuage some, if not all,Irish American concerns.

The spokesman said that Lugar, a Republican from Indiana,had been working with Senator Chris Dodd from Connecticutin an effort to resolve the issues of particular concern.

Dodd, a Democrat with possible presidential ambitions, hasbeen apparently sympathetic to the AOH and other critics ofthe treaty.

Recently elected AOH National President Jack Meehan hasurged the treaty's rejection stating that its ratificationwould entail signing away the rights of Americans to a fairtrial.

The Hibernians have also produced a "Comparison Document"outlining in detail the organization's broad reservationsover the treaty.

In addition, the AOH National Political Education Committeehas been circulating a release describing the treaty as"dangerous" and a means by which "many of the rights" takenfor granted by American citizens would be eliminated.

Opposition to the treaty has also been spearheaded byProfessor Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois whilea coalition of Irish American organizations, under theUnity In Action Committee umbrella, late last week issued astatement calling on the Senate to reject ratification.

Boyle has argued that, under the revised treaty'sprovisions, American founding fathers and mothers such asJohn Hancock, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jamesand Dolly Madison would be extradited to Britain for thevery revolutionary activities that founded the UnitedStates.

Boyle and other critics have especially focused theirattention on the revised treaty's potential effects withregard to political activity linked to Northern Ireland buthave also highlighted - as has the American Civil LibertiesUnion - what they claim are the treaty's dangers to civilliberties in general.

"The LAOH has denounced this U.S./UK treaty as an assaulton the basic civil liberties of all Americans," said LadiesAncient Order of Hibernians National President, DorothyWeldon.

Weldon's criticism was included in the Unity in the ActionCommittee release, a document that also carried statementson behalf of the Irish American Unity Conference, IrishNorthern Aid and the Brehon Law Society.

Opposition to the revised treaty has also been expressed inrecent months by the Irish American Emergency ParadesCommittee, Americans for a New Irish Agenda and the IrishAmerican Labor Coalition.

The treaty, argued Cullen, substituted decisions bypolitical operatives and bureaucrats for the review andrulings of the federal judiciary.

"We must insist that the courts determine key issues likerights and liberties that arise in extraditions to the UK,a jurisdiction whose concern for these matters of dueprocess, particularly in Northern Ireland, are more thansuspect," Cullen stated.

The Foreign Relations panel last discussed the treaty justbefore it went into summer recess in early August butdeferred its vote until this week.

At that hearing, however, Deputy U.S. Attorney General,Paul McNulty said he refuted "in unequivocal terms" thesuggestion that the U.S. had entered into the treaty "inorder to collude with the United Kingdom in a campaign ofretaliation against Irish-American Citizens."

The revised treaty was signed in March 2003 by then U.S.attorney general, John Ashcroft, and the British homesecretary at the time, David Blunkett.

In his remarks at the signing ceremony, Ashcroft made nospecific reference to any conflict, group or country.

British government representatives have repeatedly deniedthat the treaty was drawn up with Northern Ireland, orIrish American activists, in mind.

In a July visit to Washington, D.C., British governmentminister-of-state, Baroness Scotland, sent a letter to eachof the 18 members of the Foreign Relations Committee.

In the letter, Baroness Scotland stated that full Senateapproval by October was of "paramount importance."

What was at stake, the baroness told senators, was "notonly the continued status of the U.S. as a 'trustedpartner' for extradition but also the perception in the UKof how our relationship works in practice."

The baroness stated that the purpose of the treaty was to"modernize" extradition arrangement. It was not, she said,aimed at speeding up the extradition from the U.S. ofpeople "suspected of involvement in terrorism" connectedwith Northern Ireland.

"The concerns about the treaty raised by certain Irish-American groups are groundless," she stated.

Prof. Boyle, reacting to the letter, said that a "BritishBaroness telling the democratically elected Members of theUnited States Senate that they had better ratify thistreaty by October or else" was "pretty outrageous."

Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone MichelleGildernew today said that it was patently clear that theIRA had delivered to the word on every commitment itentered into last year and that the time for DUP to engagehas long since past.

Ms Gildernew said:

"Well before any pronouncement from the IMC this afternoonit has been patently clear to everyone objectively lookingat this situation that the IRA had delivered to the word onevery commitment it entered into this time last year.

"The IRA have dealt decisively with genuine issues ofconcern put forward by unionists and it is very clear thatthe time for the DUP using this issue as an excuse not toengage and move forward has long since past.

"The DUP stand alone as the only party still unwilling tocommit to sharing power on the basis laid out in the GoodFriday Agreement." ENDS

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Steve MacSweeney'sundocumented status was the last thing on his mind as heworked alongside firefighters, police officers andvolunteers, searching desperately for people trappedbeneath the rubble of the collapsed twin towers.

MacSweeney, a carpenter from Kerry, was renovating apenthouse on Canal Street on the morning of the attacks.

A few minutes before 9 a.m., he was having a coffee breakdownstairs when a laborer burst into the room, announcingthat an airplane had just crashed into one of the twintowers.

"I ran up the roof and we just stood there in amazement,"recalled MacSweeney, who is now 32.

"Then next thing we knew, we heard the sound of anotherplane flying overhead. It was right above us; we could hearthe sound of the engine. Next thing, it just sort ofrotated and crashed right into the second tower."

MacSweeney stood for a couple of minutes, trying to absorbthe shock of the scene he had just witnessed. Having workedas a search and rescue volunteer in Ireland, however,instinct soon took over as he watched fire trucks andpolice cars speed past his building on their way down tothe World Trade Center.

As MacSweeney headed towards the inferno, the South towerbegan to collapse in front of his eyes.

"All the dirt and the smoke started hurtling towards us,"he said.

"I ripped my shirt and used the cloth to cover my mouth. Igave some to my laborer and to an old lady who was walkingbeside us."

Undeterred by the danger, MacSweeney defied the orders ofcops who were already taping off the scene, sneaking underthe barriers in order to help.

MacSweeney spent the next two-and-a-half weeks at GroundZero, as it was now becoming known, working almost non-stopto clear debris, beneath which people were frequentlydiscovered - sometimes alive, but more often, dead.

At the site, MacSweeney met and became friends with severalvolunteers, including two other undocumented Irish men, butnobody cared about immigration status during those days.

On a visit to the site, President George W. Bush shookMacSweeney's hand and thanked him and a group of volunteersfor the work they were doing.

On his third day, MacSweeney suffered an arm injury thatlater became so badly infected he had to stop working onthe site. Major surgery performed in the nick of time savedhis arm from amputation.

As one of the first responders to Sept. 11, MacSweeney hasreceived federally funded medical checks, blood tests andx-rays to monitor his health.

Results of a major assessment released by Mt. Sinaihospital this week led Mayor Michael Bloomberg toacknowledge publicly for the first time that firstresponders to the Sept. 11 attacks have had higher rates ofhealth problems than those who arrived later.

Recent x-rays have shown that MacSweeney's lungs are nottaking in their full capacity of oxygen, a development thatdoctors are monitoring.

But harrowing memories and health problems are not whatMacSweeney regrets most about that day.

"The most difficult part was coming out of there with thefirefighters and all other people and seeing everyone beingembraced by their families," he said. "That's when yourealize you don't have your family with you and you won'tsee your family unless you are prepared to give up yourright to be in the U.S."

Ever since that day, MacSweeney's undocumented status hasnever been far from his mind. As U.S. immigration policiesbecome more and more restrictive, he, like the millions ofundocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S.,becomes even more insecure about his future here.

MacSweeney, who moved to the U.S. in 1998, loves his lifein Manhattan, where he makes a good living and has lots offriends.

In those eight years, however, he has not seen his parents,who live in Kerry and are too elderly to fly. He has hadtwo family visitors from Ireland; an uncle who came tovisit four years ago, and his niece and goddaughter, whosebirthday wish when she turned 13 was to come and see him.

"My grandmother isn't getting any younger," saidMacSweeney.

"A friend of mine has lost a brother this year and missedher sister's wedding. Things like that bring it home to me-- as much as I love it here, can I really do this foranother year? I can't get insurance, I can't open a bankaccount. I've been offered fantastic jobs in this countrythat I can't take because I have no social security and nogreen card. My girlfriend is Canadian and she is here on agreen card. She goes to Canada to visit her family everyyear and she takes trips to Europe. I'd love to be able togo with her but I can't. I've tried to contribute, I'velived the American way -- all I want is the chance to dothat legally."

Through his work as an activist with the Irish Lobby forImmigration Reform, MacSweeney has witnessed the dwindlingnumbers of Irish people in traditionally Irishneighborhoods in the Bronx and Queens.

"Slowly but surely the neighborhoods are falling apart,"MacSweeney said.

"I'd say 25 percent of the Irish community have alreadygone home. I've already lost most of my friends. Everyoneis going home. The Irish communities are diminishing. Wehave to show the government that they are going to losetheir Irish neighborhoods if it continues."

If enough people lend their support, however, MacSweeney is"100 percent optimistic" for the future of undocumentedimmigrants in the U.S.

"If we can get the Irish-American community involved, if wecan get the Irish community in Ireland involved and if wecan get the undocumented Irish here involved, we have achance," he said.

"With President Bush saying immigration is at the top ofhis agenda, I'm hoping it will be this Christmas and ifit's not this Christmas I'll hope maybe next summer,"MacSweeney said.

"If I could say something to him, I'd ask him if his kidswere in the unfortunate position we are in now, how wouldhe feel as a parent not being able to see his kids becausethey were trying to make a better life for themselves?"

He was only representing Hamas on the PalestinianLegislative Council the day the Sinn Fein President came toRamallah because so many senior Hamas representatives -including the speaker and the deputy prime minister - hadbeen arrested by the Israelis.

With a cheery face and ready handshake he certainly dosen'tlook like a terrorist - but that's exactly what Hamas is inthe eyes of Israel, the EU and the US.

That is why his presence in the same room as Gerry Adamscould yet cause the Sinn Fein President all kinds ofproblems, not least from the White House which is likely totake a dim view.

But then it didn't like Mr Adams's visit to Fidel Castro inCuba either and his place in the vanguard of the NorthernIreland peace process hardly suffered.

He had to do what he thought was right, was Gerry Adams'sanswer to the inevitable questions afterwards - and ifothers chose to punish Sinn Fein because of it, that wastheir choice.

The punishment could come in the form of an extension ofSinn Fein's fund-raising ban in the US.

But Mr Adams seemed to shrug as he drove off to anotherstop on his brief tour of the West Bank.

Dr Daragmeh seemed oblivious to what all the fuss couldpossibly be about. Mr Adams, he said, was ''a freedomleader''.

If they haven't yet taken the road of peace Hamas havefollowed Sinn Fein in one way - their success at the pollsin the last Palestinian elections has certainly changed thelandscape - but not in a way the desperately poor citizensof towns like Ramallah would have liked.

VIP treatment

Hamas's subsequent failure to renounce violence has led theEU to cut off aid.

So a very poor area has just got even poorer. Even theprofessional classes are feeling the pinch. It's been solong since they were paid that they've gone on strike.

Mr Adams would like to have heard of their plight face-to-face with the president Mahmoud Abbas.

But the president was called away unexpectedly to helpnegotiate the release of a captured Israeli soldier inanother troubled Palestinian area, Gaza. Mr Adams had tomake do with a phone call.

But he was able to lay a wreath at the tomb of formerPresident Yasser Arafat, the man who first invited him tothe Middle East.

In Ramallah he was treated as a VIP - sirens blaring he wasdriven through the streets in a presidential-stylecavalcade.

It was in marked contrast to his reception on the Israeliside where the government refused to see him - because ofhis Hamas meeting - though they did help to facilitate thetrip.

Mr Adams said he had feared they would prove more difficultthan they had been.

He left saying he would be happy if he had delivered a bitmore hope into the situation.

But hope seems in very short supply here. The West Bankseems desperate compared to the relative Western-styleopulence on the Israeli side.

He will return to a northern Irish peace process -imperfect as it is - which is light years ahead of anythingwhich exists in Ramallah.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Defying Israeli objections, Sinn Feinleader Gerry Adams met with a Hamas legislator in the WestBank on Wednesday and advised Israel and the Palestiniansto solve their problems using the Northern Ireland formula_ negotiations.

Adams, whose Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein partyis the major representative of Northern Ireland's Catholicminority, said ahead of his trip he wants to inspireparties in other conflicts following the agreement to enddecades of fighting in his land.

Israeli officials boycotted Adams because of his intentionto meet Hamas members. Hamas, which controls thePalestinian parliament, is sworn to Israel's destructionand has rebuffed international demands to recognize Israeland renounce violence.

Visiting Ramallah, the Palestinians' West Bankadministrative capital, Adams met with several Palestinianlawmakers including Ayman Daraghmeh of Hamas. He spoke bytelephone to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a memberof the moderate Fatah Party, who is traveling in the Gulf.

At a news conference, Adams urged Israel and thePalestinians to negotiate a two-state solution to theirconflict and said Israel must talk to the Palestinianleadership.

"I think it is right that the occupation of the Palestinianterritories should end and I think it's right that thereshould be dialogue and an end to the conflict," he said.

Israel must "understand that the strategic interest ofIsrael and the prosperity and the security and freedom ofIsrael is interlocked into them upholding the rights andthe freedom and the security of the Palestinian people," hesaid.

Israel is prepared to talk to Abbas, who favors a peaceaccord with Israel, but not with Hamas, which has beendeclared a terror organization by the U.S. and the EuropeanUnion.

The past 38 years of conflict over Northern Ireland hasclaimed more than 3,600 lives, but has largely abated sincea cease-fire in 1997.

Leader of political arm of Irish underground, Gerry Adams,meets MK Ahmad Tibi in Israel in order to see up closediscrimination against Arab Israelis. Two compared Octoberriots to 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland and spokeabout injustices in citizenship law. Adams announced thathe intends to meeting with Hamas members of PalestinianParliament

Roee Nahmias Published: 09.06.06, 15:28

The October riots, the separation fence, and the FamilyUnion Law – those were the topics at the center of themeeting between Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK AhmadTibi (United Arab List-Ta'al), and Gerry Adams, leader ofSinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army.

During the meeting, held Wednesday in Jerusalem, Adams saidhe met with Tibi into to hear firsthand of the situation ofthe Arab minority in Israel and on the need to fight thediscrimination against them.

According to Tibi, Adams asked to hear details about allrealms of life and discrimination against the Arabs inIsrael. "He asked to know if there are laws that theKnesset passes that perpetuate discrimination. We focusedon one example in the law that doesn't allow the union offamilies on both sides of the Green Line. He said thatsounded terrible to him and asked what the legal andpolitical options are to change the law," said Tibi.

"He told me that he had heard and read about me and wasvery interested in the struggle for the voters. He askedwhy the rightwing also tries to disqualify us in everyelections campaign, and added that he is happy I ultimatelymanage to win," Tibi added.

During the meeting, Adams asked for updated writtenmaterial on the situation of Arabs in Israel.

Adams was also interested in government allowances to Arabcitizens. "I mentioned the October riots and the killing of13 citizens by the police and we compared it to 'BloodySunday' in Northern Ireland," he said.

Bloody Sunday took place on November 21, 1920, when theBritish massacred innocent Irish people in a soccer stadiumin response to the actions of the IRA.

"This is an educated man with broad perspectives who takesan interest in minorities all over the world. He feels thediscrimination and oppression in his blood and he showempathy toward minorities and oppressed nations. Iexplained to him that the struggle of the Arab public is apolitical, public, and parliamentary struggle," said Tibi.

The two also touched upon the Israeli-Palestinian issue.Adams said that he intends to meet with Hamas leaders eventhough it will mean that official Israeli representativeswon't meet him. "In his opinion, serious dialogue is theway to solve conflicts," added Tibi.

Tibi invited to Ireland

Adams said that one cannot hold elections as part of ademocratic process without accepting their results."Therefore, he will meet with democratically electedofficials," explained Tibi. "He is updated about the numberof Palestinian casualties recently in the Gaza Strip. Itold him that since the Lebanon war, 257 Palestinians havebeen killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip."

Tibi said they also spoke about the separation fence . "Itold him that this is a racist separation wall, which theInternational Court of Justice has asked to be removed. Ialso said that we support the principle of two states onthe condition that this will bring about the end ofoccupation of 1967 territories," he added. The two endedtheir meeting warmly, but not before Adams invited Tibi fora similar meeting in Ireland.

According to Tibi, "I would be happy and proud to meet withthe leader and figure who fought for freedom andindependence, who has resisted foreign rule of his country.I appreciate Gerry Adams and his activities as a symbol ofthe struggle for freedom and shaking off a foreign andoppressive regime."

The maintenance of the IRA's command and control structureis helping rather than hindering the peace process in theNorth, the international body set up to monitorparamilitary ceasefires said today.

With the Irish and British governments intent on breakingthe political deadlock with days of intensive party talksin Scotland next month, the Independent MonitoringCommission (IMC) gave their efforts a fillip with a reportwhich said republicans remain committed to politics.

In the face of constant unionist calls for the totaldisbandment of the IRA, the report said the maintenance ofthe IRA structure was actually an important element inkeeping the organisation on the path of peace.

The IMC’s 11th report said it remained of the firm viewthat the IRA was committed to following a political path.

“It is not engaged in terrorist activity, by which we meanundertaking attacks, planning or reconnoitring them, ordeveloping a terrorist capability by, for example,procuring weapons or training members.

“The leadership is opposed to the use of violence incommunity control, has taken a stance against criminalityand disorder amongst the membership, and has been engagedin successful dialogue to prevent violence during the 2006parades season,” it said.

Senior members of the IRA were taking on roles in Sinn Féinand encouraging other members to do the same or to engagein community work, it added.

The report added: “The fact that PIRA retains a command andcontrol structure does not in our view detract from this.Indeed, this structure is an important element inmaintaining the organisation on its chosen path.”

It said following statements and decommissioning by theIRA, and given the strategy directed by the leadership: "Wedo not think that PIRA presents a threat to the securityforces or impediment to security normalisation."

However, the IMC said dissident republicans did pose acontinuing threat to the security forces and constituted“the most significant security threat in Northern Ireland”.

They continued to engage in paramilitary activity andrecent events had shown their wish to maintain theircapability to do so.

“It remains the case, however, that they have been hamperedin what they do both by their limited expertise andcapacity and by the continuing efforts of law enforcementagencies North and South,” said the report.

It added that there was a certain level of threat to thelives and safety of members of the security forces.

“This threat could materialise in any part of NorthernIreland but is more likely to do so in certain specificareas,” it added.

Loyalist paramilitary groups, said the IMC, remainedinvolved in violence - but they did not pose an activethreat to the security forces.

In contrast to 2005, loyalist leaders contributed to aquiet parades season and some among them appeared committedto ending criminality among their members.

The ending of criminality had been more evident in the caseof the Ulster Defence Association than the Ulster VolunteerForce and may reflect a positive strategic decision, saidthe report.

“The UVF refusal to clarify its position in advance of 24November 2006 (the government-set deadline for a politicalbreakthrough) remains a worry, not least in view of theirrefusal to decommission arms or in other ways to reducetheir capability to revert to terrorism,” it added.

The report, focusing on the normalisation process, said theBritish Army and police had met the provisions of thedemilitarisation process.

All remaining watchtowers had been demolished in SouthArmagh, troops had been withdrawn from two more policestations and troop levels reduced.

The report also noted the defortification of existingpolice buildings, and the style of construction of newbuildings in line with Patten Report recommendations.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland was also makingprogress in introducing new patrolling patterns.

It said as far as the PSNI was concerned, the most strikingrecent development was the way in which the July 12 paradeswere policed without the need for military assistance – ashas been the case for the earlier Tour of the North Orangeparade in north Belfast.

Three other examples of normalisation it highlighted were:

- More than 80% of uniformed officers now patrolling inhigh-visibility clothing;

- Whereas in spring 2005 some three quarters of districtsin the PSNI Rural region regularly used militarydeployment, this was now very exceptional and the trend wasexpected to continue downward;

- The PSNI was actively looking at new ways of encouraginginterface between officers and the public – for example,basing them in places such as schools and supermarkets.

“These sorts of developments are not simply evidence ofnormalisation. They also foster greater normalisation byencouraging community contact and greater support for thepolice.

“We have heard of many instances of greater support,including in those sections of the community which havetraditionally been antipathetic to the police,” said thereport.

Secretary of State Peter Hain said the report clearlyshowed the North was changing for the better every day.

“The report recognises both the dramatic changes that havebeen made to the security apparatus in Northern Ireland,and that these changes are commensurate with the threat andconsistent with the Government’s responsibility for publicprotection,” he said.

Mr Hain said the report also reaffirmed the view that theIRA was committed to following a political path and thatthe leadership had taken a stand against criminality andengaged in successful dialogue to prevent violence duringthe marching season.

“Clearly everyone in Northern Ireland is awaiting the IMC’snext report on paramilitary activity but, even without thatreport, it is clear that a dramatic shift has occurred inthe threat posed by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland,” hesaid.

That, in parallel with the recently peaceful paradingseason, offered up the genuine possibility of a NorthernIreland in which community policing without routine Armysupport, jury trial and defortified police stations werethe norm, said Mr Hain.

“This is a great prize for the people of Northern Ireland,and the government will continue to meet its commitments tonormalise security arrangements as long as the appropriateenabling environment exists,” he added.

The DUP has said the IRA's transition into an exclusivelypeaceful organisation was not yet complete.

Deputy leader Peter Robinson MP seized on comments from theIndependent Monitoring Commission (IMC) that themaintenance of the IRA's command and control structure wasa positive for the peace process.

"If, as the IMC indicate, IRA discipline is needed tomaintain 'the organisation on its chosen path', then thisis a clear indication that republicans have not yet reachedthe stage where their natural tendency is to opt forexclusively peaceful and democratic means," he said.

"The transition is not complete."

He added that the DUP would look to the IMC report nextmonth and subsequent reports that would provide a moredetailed analysis of the behaviour of terrorist andcriminal organisations.

However, Sinn Fein has told the DUP the time for them tocommit to a power-sharing government in Northern Irelandwas long since passed.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew said:"Well before any pronouncement from the IMC it has beenpatently clear to everyone objectively looking at thissituation that the IRA has delivered to the word on everycommitment it entered into this time last year.

"The IRA has dealt decisively with genuine issues ofconcern put forward by unionists and it is very clear thatthe time for the DUP using this issue as an excuse not toengage and move forward has long since passed."

The DUP stood alone as the only party still unwilling tocommit to sharing power on the basis laid out in the GoodFriday Agreement, she said.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern welcomed the report. Hesaid the security situation in Northern Ireland wasbecoming progressively normalised and the assessment on theIRA continued to be positive.

"An enormous transformation has taken place in recentyears.

"We have had a peaceful and calm summer. This has been theresult of a lot of work by a lot of people, working in theinterests of all," said Mr Ahern.

The Taoiseach said it had been clear for some time thatthis autumn would determine the shape of Northern Irelandpolitics for some considerable time to come.

"The period ahead will be decisive. It will demandleadership. All parties must play their part," said MrAhern.

He added: "We want to see agreement on devolution over thecoming weeks and we firmly believe it is achievable. Thelast remaining steps can and must therefore be taken.

"The outstanding issues are very few indeed. They are wellcapable of being resolved. Northern Ireland must move on.Real politics and genuine partnership have to be the wayforward."

Mr Ahern reminded the Northern Ireland parties the November24 deadline for an agreement on the return of a power-sharing administration at Stormont was considered,reasonable and serious.

However, in the meantime the British and Irish governmentswere also continuing their work on new partnershiparrangements to ensure effective joint stewardship of theGood Friday Agreement in the event devolution did not takeplace by November 24, he said.

Meanwhile, shadow Northern Ireland secretary DavidLidington said the comments in the IMC report about the IRAand Sinn Fein were encouraging.

He said particularly encouraging was the report's commentsregarding terrorist activity and the IRA leadership'scommitment to a political path.

But he added: "We need to be certain that involvement inall forms of criminality, not just terrorism, has ended forgood."

Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy MLA said itappeared there were elements of progress in the report thatwere to be welcomed, particularly from the IRA.

But he said the party would "continue to monitordevelopments while we await more substantive reports in theautumn."

Alliance Party security spokesman Stephen Farry said thedisbandment of the IRA as an organisation would still beneeded.

While the IMC may believe the discipline provided by theIRA leadership may be a help at present, it could only be ashort-term view, he said.

"The persistence of the IRA command and control structuresis not sustainable in a society based upon the rule of law.Disbandment of the organisation is ultimately required,"said Mr Farry.

An all-out power struggle between the UK chancellor GordonBrown and prime minister Tony Blair, culminating withallegations by Mr Blair of blackmail and a ferociousshouting match between the two men, appeared last night tohave forced Mr Blair to declare as early as today that hewill not be prime minister this time next year.

That may not be enough for Mr Brown, who is understood tohave demanded that Mr Blair quit by Christmas, with aneffective joint premiership until a new leader is anointedby the party.

Mr Blair's statement will effectively confirm what cabinetministers, including David Miliband, have been hintingabout in the past few days. It represents a further shiftin position as the prime minister struggles to cling tooffice and prevent a meltdown in the party.

But last night Mr Brown found himself under pressure torepudiate the move by some MPs to force Mr Blair fromoffice now.

In probably the most astonishing day in the annals of NewLabour, the use of the word blackmail to describe MrBrown's recent actions by Downing Street staff wasauthorised for use by Mr Blair, and reflected his view thatMr Brown is orchestrating a coup against him.

Downing Street claimed the resignation yesterday of thejunior defence minister Tom Watson and six parliamentaryaides came with Mr Brown's agreement. The seven men quitthe government demanding that Mr Blair stand downimmediately. A seventh parliamentary aide, Iain Wright,resigned from the Government last night, according tosources.

Downing Street's allegations led to counter-accusationsfrom the Brown camp of intimidation of backbench MPs by No10 aides desperate to cling to office. As a result, thechances of the much-prized stable and orderly transitionbetween the two men looked to have collapsed.

The recriminations came after meetings between the two menat Downing Street ended with Mr Blair rejecting Mr Brown'sterms for allowing him to remain in office, including anaccelerated timetable for Mr Blair's resignation byChristmas, and an effective joint premiership in theinterim. - (Guardian service)

Northern Ireland's politics is like a lengthy episode ofthe Weakest Link, with each party trying to 'bank' the mostpolitical capital.

Mick Fealty

September 6, 2006 02:37 PM

So what's been happening in Northern Ireland? It struck mesome time ago that the best way to describe politics thereis as an endless round of "political chicken". But it'sprobably more accurate to see it as a lengthy episode ofthe Weakest Link.

When in April 1998, at the time the Belfast Agreement wassigned, the strongest democratic players were moderates:Trimble's Ulster Unionist party (UUP) and John Hume'sSocial Democratic and Labour party (SDLP). Accordingly (andappropriately) each collected a substantial gong when theycried "bank", and along came the Nobel committee with apeace prize for each.

But as each round continued, Ulster's "liberals" stumbledto answer the questions. What would happen to IRA guns? Howto get a broadly acceptable policing service? And how theyto sustain a political deal that half the voting unionistpublic wouldn't touch with a bargepole. The Stormontassembly, the first of the UK's devolved "parliaments", metfitfully for 18 months over a four year period and finallyspluttered out and "died" in October 2002.

By the 2001 Westminster and council elections, thenationalist electorate chose the representatives of themilitarised Republican movement, and it was "goodbye" toHume's party as a serious player in Northern Irishpolitics. Two years later and Trimble dutifully departedstage of power, though not the leadership of his party,when he was nosed out in "the election to nowhere" of lateNovember 2003.

The next round came in the autumn of 2004, when threemonths of negotiations collapsed because the IRA would notback down on it's long stated refusal to have its longpromised act of decommissioning photographed. The end ofthe comprehensive agreement was ambiguous enough not tohave cost either their place in the game.

Ten days later however, the "bank" in question was not thesharp gathering political capital, but the largest bankrobbery in European history. Despite denials ofresponsibility from the IRA (widely disbelieved by mostoutside the Republican movement itself), Sinn Fein hasstruggle to regain its composure and momentum ever since.

With only two players remaining in the game, the biggestchallenge for each to "bank" the largest amount ofpolitical "cash" before the deal closes. Peter Hain, averitable Anne Robinson compared to his genial predecessorPaul Murphy, has been unafraid to crack eggs, recountingwith some relish to Northern Ireland's deeply underemployedpublic representatives, the extent of the work they havesignally failed to do over the last eight years.

However, the IRA receives another clean bill in the IMC'slatest report today, and Hain's 24th November deadline iswidely held to be porous enough to finalise a deal and giveboth players a chance to sell their 'prizes' to those stillreluctant to dispense with Northern Ireland'sfundamentalist past.

But the clock is ticking, and each will need to "bank" whatthey can, before the game moves on, and, as Bush's specialenvoy to Northern Ireland pointed out, leaves them withlittle to show for an eight/nine year trek.

Just in time for May elections next year to help guild TonyBlair's two month procession from office in No 10?